


The Family Dinner the Writer Almost Forgot

by GachMoBrea



Series: The Unexpected Series [13]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst!, Dinner, Drama, Gen, Growling, Uninvited Guests, Worthy - The Peace Talker, Yelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 02:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6686278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>} Family dinner on Friday!  WHO shows up?</p><p>I accidentally wrote a piece that had Len's arm "miraculously" healed.<br/>This will be edited in before that one. (Even though it was written after.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Family Dinner the Writer Almost Forgot

Friday came pretty fast, even by Barry's standards. Joe was cooking a Thanksgiving themed and sized meal, caught up in his foster son's excitement.  
Barry had invited Cisco, Caitlin and Iris to the dinner as well.  
There was the perfect amount of room for everyone to fit around the dining room table: Joe was going to sit at the head of the table (Iris to his right and Wentworth to his left), while Barry sat at the other end (Len to his right and Caitlin to his left), Cisco and Lisa would sit in the middle (across from each other).  
"What time are people showing up?" Joe asks from the kitchen as he basted the turkey in the oven.  
"I told them six, but you never know," Barry answered, placing the final cup in its designated spot, "Are you sure you made enough for eight people, Joe?"  
Joe laughed loudly at that and Barry smiled.  
"I think I made enough for twice that many people, Barry," Joe chuckled, pushing the turkey back so he could close the oven door, "The turkey should be done by six-thirty and the fixings around that time too. You think we can keep them civil if there's a wait?"  
It was Barry's turn to laugh, "Two years ago I would've said never in a thousand years. Today?" Barry shrugged, "Once again, you never know."  
"I just hope Worthy likes what I've made. I would feel bad if I had to make him a PB&J and make him feel left out," Joe looks nervously at his bubbling pots.  
"Wentworth will love anything Grampa Joe makes," Barry dissuades the other man's concerns, "Even if he only eats the turkey and stuffing."  
Joe smiles, "Your kid sure is something."  
"Yeah," Barry blushes, "Some times, I wake up and think 'this can't be real,' but then I look at his picture on my bedside table and can't imagine life without him."  
"That's fatherhood all right," Joe chuckles.

 

The doorbell rings and Barry leaps to it, excitement buzzing in his veins.  
He opens the door wide, a smile on his face, then he freezes. The world stops for a second as he stares at the tall brooding man standing behind the Snarts.  
Mick Rory had come to dinner.  
"You gonna stand there all night, Nosey?" Mick growled, "Or are you going to let your guests in?"  
"Uh, yeah, come on in," Barry steps out of the way and motions with his hand for them to enter. Lisa shoots him an apologetic look as she carries Worthy towards the kitchen. Mick takes a seat on the couch while Len stays back to talk to Barry.  
"What's going on?" Barry hisses, pulling the other man as far away from the criminal as possible, "Why is he here?"  
"Relax," Len drawls, but there's a touch of worry to his usually dismissive demeanor, "Mick caught wind of the family dinner and invited himself."  
"Couldn't you have told him no?" Barry growls, glancing at the man in the other room as he stood up to look the fireplace over. Barry hopes the man isn't thinking about starting any fires here.  
"You have your kinds of friends, and I have mine," Len answers defensively, "All this goody-goody work has turned me soft. So, no, I couldn't turn him to the street."  
Barry sighs angrily, this isn't what he had planned. What were the others going to think when they saw the pyromaniac criminal at the dinner table?

"Barry, where's Len?" Joe asks, entering the room. His smile falls away the instant he sees Mick, "What are you doing here?"  
Mick grins, "I heard you were a decent cook and had to find out for myself."  
Joe crosses his arms over his chest, "I don't recall you being invited."  
"I don't recall caring," Mick's grin turns to a sneer, "By the way, since when does one of Central City's finest start calling Snart by his first name?"  
This is bad. This is very, very bad. What if Mick figures out Barry's connection to Len? What if he figures out he's The Flash?  
"Who I chose to allow to call me by my name is my choice, Mick," Len stops Barry's spiraling thoughts, stepping away from the Speedster so he can stand closer to his ex-partner, "Remember that you promised to behave or else I'd kick you to the curb."  
"Like you could," Mick snorts, but stops glaring at the detective.  
"A word?" Joe looks pointedly to Len and the man nods.  
Joe and Len go to where Barry's still standing near the door.  
"What were you thinking?" Joe scolds, placing his hands on his hips, "Barry told me about 'Uncle Mick' showing up at your house, but I didn't think you'd go so far as to invite him to family dinners."  
"Mick is part of my family," Len states, and there's an icy tone to his words as if challenging the other two men to disagree, "And as I told Barry, I didn't invite him. He invited himself."  
Joe and Barry's argument deflates. There's no point in arguing over it now. They'll just have to deal with one more person at the table.

"I'll go set another place," Barry says and Joe sighs.  
"I'm going back to the kitchen," the detective strides out of the room without so much as glancing at the uninvited guest.  
"You guys sure like to have a lot of secret meetings," Mick comments from the couch. He has his back to them but there's no mistaking his annoyed attitude.  
Len smirks and walks into the living room to lean against the fireplace in front of his ex-partner, careful not to put pressure on his still healing arm.  
Barry has enough time to heavy a huge sigh before the doorbell rings again.  
Hopefully the other haven't brought any more surprising guests.

"Evening, Barry!" Caitlin smiles, holding a fruit salad in front of her, "I wasn't sure if I was supposed to bring anything, so I just brought something light."  
"That looks great," Barry smiles, "Thank you, Caitlin."  
Barry takes the bowl from the scientist as she enters. She takes one step passed the speedster, looks at Len then frowns.  
"Uh, Barry?" she turns back to her friend, "Is that-?"  
"Mick Rory," the criminal himself stands and turns to her, "Criminal pyromaniac, at your service."  
Mick even bows a little at his own introduction.  
Caitlin smiles tightly, "Dr. Caitlin Snow, nice to meet you."  
"Dr?" Mick raises an eyebrow, "You must be the lovely lady who patched up my buddy here."  
"Yes, that's me," Caitlin isn't sure if the gruff words were meant as a compliment or not.  
"Thanks for that," Mick grins.  
"You're welcome," the scientist swallows, "Barry, how bout I take the bowl to the kitchen myself?"  
Barry nods and lets her take it back. Allowing his friend an escape from the tense situation.  
"She's pretty for a doc," Mick comments after she's gone, "I can understand why you went to her for medical attention."  
"Stop drooling over my friends, Mick," Len warns lightly, "You're not here to pick up girls."  
"Pity," the criminal frowns, sitting back down.

 

Cisco shows up next with a bag of chips.  
"I know this isn't the usual dinner type food, but you can never go wrong with the right kind of snack food," Cisco defends his choice before Barry can comment.  
The young genius makes it through the door and his reaction is similar to Caitlin's, though Cisco takes a step back out the door upon seeing Heat Wave.  
"What the heck, Barry?" Cisco hisses, his eyes large and shoulders hunching as if he could hide from the man in the other room.  
"I'll explain later," Barry assures his friend, "Don't worry, Len's got this."  
"Are all your new friends this jumpy?" Mick asks Len as he once again rises to his feet. This time to pyro walks around the couch to offer his hand to Cisco, "Mick Rory, nice to meet you."  
"Cisco Ramon," the genius takes the hand carefully and barely shakes it before pulling his hand away.  
Mick notices the bag of chips and smiles, "That's my favorite kind, do you mind?"  
Cisco hands the bag over instantly and the criminal's smile widens.  
"Thanks," Mick goes back to his spot, opening the bag on the way, and starts to eat.  
"That you, Cisco?" Caitlin calls from the kitchen.  
"Coming!" the genius takes the excuse to leave and almost runs out of the room.  
Dinner was going to be interesting.

 

Iris arrive ten minutes late with an apologetic smile.  
"I am SO sorry, Barry," she pulls him into a hug as a greeting, "My boss would not let me leave until I finished this story and I tried to work as fast as possible, but you know how hard it can be to work when you're rushed."  
Barry laughs at that and returns the hug, "I might know a thing or two about rushing around, yeah."  
"Is that your girlfriend, Nosey?" Mick's voice interrupts the moment, his voice distorted a little with his cheeks full of partially chewed chips.  
"Swallow before speaking, Mick," Len drawls, "You're too big for me to give the abdominal thrust maneuver to."  
Iris startles at Mick's voice but relaxes when she sees Len. It's interesting to think that Iris would be calmed by the ex-criminal's presence.  
"I thought it was Himslike or something?" Mick frowns, still speaking with his mouth full.  
"'Heimlich' actually, but 'Abdominal Thrust' is the politically correct term these days," Snart shrugs with his good arm, "I meant it, though, chew and swallow."  
Mick does but growls, "Mother hen."

 

"Dinner's ready," Joe announces to the group. It's really only Iris, Barry, Len and Mick not already in the dining room area. Wentworth was even with the other group watching Grandpa fuss around the kitchen with wide-eyed interest.  
To her credit, Iris hadn't shown any other signs of worry regarding the criminal in the living room. She even talked a little with the gruff man about a brawl she helped edit the other day. He had grinned and given her details the reporter hadn't known about. Apparently, Mick had started the fight, then disappeared out the back door before the cops showed up.  
Barry had managed to squeeze in one more chair at the table, putting Mick in between Len and himself. One good things came with Len's arm in a sling, the man didn't need as much arm space.  
"Who knew cops could cook?" Mick remarked, taking his place at the table.  
"I'm full of all sorts of surprises, Mr. Rory," Joe said, waiting for the other to sit so he could start to carve the turkey.  
"Mick, please," the criminal smiled, "Mr. Rory sounds funny."  
"Unc Mik!" Wentworth waves at the man from his spot.  
"Hey there, Spit-Fire," Mick waves back, "You being a good boy down there?"  
"Des!" Worthy nods.  
Caitlin and Cisco stare at the exchange with open expressions of shock.  
Mick laughs at them.

 

As the meal progresses the tension in the room dissipates. Mick laughs and jokes around like he's just met everyone but Barry and the Snarts for the first time.  
Joe even catches himself chuckling at a poorly timed remark as the crook tries to pass two plates in a crisscross fashion.  
"I ain't an octopus!" Mick growls clunking the plates down, "Either you take the plate when I offer it to you, or you ain't getting any of it!"  
"Don't yell, Mick," Len scolds like he would his own child, "We can hear your frustration just fine at your regular volume level."  
"You're not my father, Snart," Mick grumbles, "Your not even my partner anymore."  
"Doesn't make me any less correct," Len drawls, "Besides, if Cisco over there doesn't stop putting his elbows on the table, I'm going to scold him too."  
"Hey," the genius slides his elbows off the table quickly, "Why are you picking on me? Caitlin double dipped her spoon in the cranberry sauce!"  
"I did no such thing!" Caitlin defends herself, "Double dipping means I licked the spoon, which I did not!"  
"Cisco," Lisa shakes her head, "How could you throw your friend under the bus like that?"  
"Me?" the genius blushes, "You stole Wentworth's heart shaped biscuit!"  
Lisa sputters, unable to deny the accusation. She tries deflecting the attention to someone else, "Grandpa Joe gave himself the biggest piece of turkey!"

"Grandpa Joe?" Mick repeats, and the room goes suddenly quiet.

Len closes his eyes for a second, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly in defeat.  
"What's going on here, Snart?" Mick growls, "That detective's daughter's too dark to be your kid's mommy so why's Lisa calling him grandpa?"  
"Not here," Len rises, motioning for the other man to follow.  
"Why not here?" Mick growls from his chair.  
"Wentworth," Len states simply, then walks out of the room. Mick looks to the little boy, sees the worry in those cool blue eyes and growls, following after his old buddy.  
Barry gives them exactly three seconds before following after them.

"I want answers, Snart, and I want them now," Mick says once they're upstairs, in Barry's room of all places, "How come The Flash's good friends are at your little dinner party and the man who arrested us is so cozy with you, Lisa and your kid?"  
"I told you not to come, Mick," Len places a hand on his injured arm, the wound throbbing with his accelerated heart beat.  
"Too bad, Captain," Mick gets in his personal space, "I'm not the big dumb idiot everyone thinks I am. There's a brain in my head and it's telling me things I don't want to believe."  
"Ordinarily, I would be happy for you, Mick," Len smirks, but there's no mirth in it, "But just this once, I think you should just drop the issue."  
Mick barks out a laugh and takes a fist full of Len's shirt, "Are you going to tell me what I want to know, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"  
"Let him go!" Barry orders.  
Mick's shoulders jump, but he doesn't lessen his grip on Len, "This has nothing to do with you, Nosey."  
"You've got a very close friend of mine, an injured one at that, in your mitts," Barry walks closer to them, "I think this very much has to do with me."  
"I'll be fine, Barry," Len assures the other man. He acts unfazed by the close proximity or threat from the other man, "Mick here is just a little hot tempered, that's all."  
"You want me to cool down, Snart?" Mick turns his attention back to Len, "Is that it? You want everything to ice over and move on like I didn't hear what I heard?"  
"That would be ideal," Len sighs, "But I know you, Mick. I know once you get something in your head that interests you, you don't deter from it unless it's impossible, and then on occasion not even then. It's what made us so similar."  
"We might not be partners in crime anymore, but that doesn't mean you get to walk out of my life and never look back," Mick releases Len and takes a step back.  
"I would never do that to you," Len's eyes soften, "This isn't about us. This has nothing to do with you."  
"Because I'm no hero?" Mick grumbles, his eyes spark with some sort of realization as he looks at Barry, "Hero."  
Oh dear...

"Lisa said you were helping The Flash with a strange Metahuman," Mick looks Barry up and down, mind whirling in thought, "He has the Spit-Fire's hair and chin."  
"Mick," Len warns, not sure what he's trying to keep the other man from doing.  
"So what, you got whammied by some human experiment and she created the kid outta you two?" Mick turns all his attention back to Len, "Then you two decided to pair up as super partners like one big happy family?"  
Len is staring at his partner, eyes searching the other man.  
Barry doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to say.  
Letting Mick Rory around his son every once in a while was one thing, watching the criminal figure out his secret identity and Len's connection to him and their son was a nightmare.

"Da! Day! Unc Mik!" Wentworth's voice calls to them from the other side of the door.

Startled out of his own thoughts, Barry opens the door and his son comes walking through it with a concerned look on his small face. Lisa is nearby, looking as lost as Barry feels and there's no doubt in the speedster's mind that the others are close by.  
"Unc Mick," Worthy points to the man, "Oo be ni me Da and Day!"  
Len smirks at his son's determination, "You heard him, Mick, you have to be nice to us."  
Mick growls, "I'm not the one who betrayed our trust."  
"I didn't betray you," Len returns, "I merely didn't give you all the details. There's a difference and you know it. I've done it before when pulling certain jobs."  
"Well, keeping me in the dark won't work anymore," Mick crosses his arms, "I want you to tell me everything."  
"Or what?" Len challenges, "You'll go to the cops? You'll rat me out to other criminals? Come on, Mick, you wouldn't do that to Wentworth."  
"I'm serious, Snart," Mick growls, "I already figured most of it out, you might as well tell me from your side of the story. Or I walk."  
"Fo-giff" Wentworth demands, stomping his foot to get all three men's attention.  
"Yeah, yeah, kid," Mick smiles, "I forgive your daddys."  
The small boy looks at the large, intimidating man with a weary look before breaking out into his regular, big mouthed smile, "Yah!"  
Mick looks to Snart, waiting for the other man's answer. Len nods and that's all the other man needs. He turns back to the little boy still smiling at them, "Let's go back downstairs. I'm still hungry."

 

The rest of the dinner is uneventful. The tension is back and doesn't go away this time, but at least Mick doesn't growl or snap at anyone. In fact, the criminal looks at ease as he helps empty the containers of food.  
Len barely eats, his eyes unfocused and his mind a mile away. He responds when directly addressed, but otherwise doesn't interact. Barry can understand what he's going through. His own head is filled with everything that could go wrong once Len tells Mick everything.  
Barry just hopes the two men's pasts are as solid as Len made them out to be.

After they've eaten and the dishes are cleared, Len pulls Barry off to the side.  
"I want you to keep Wentworth tonight," he tells him, keeping his voice low.  
"Do you think Mick will get violent once you tell him everything?" Barry's heart races at the thought. Maybe he should be there too.  
"No, but it might take a while to explain everything," Len sighs, "I really just want to know that our son's in a safe place tonight."  
Barry's chest swells with pride. 'Our son' and 'safe place' making him strangely happy considering the second word's insinuation. Even though he already knew it, hearing the absolute trust Len had for him still touched him.  
"You got it," Barry assures him, "You know I'd take him anytime."  
"I know," Len smirk, "Thanks, Barry."  
"There is one thing, though," Barry says, catching Len by his good elbow to draw his attention, "Our son could possibly be the greatest peace talker of all time."  
Len chuckles, "Who knows? Maybe one day, he'll become Mayor Snart."  
Barry laughs along with Len as he walks the man to the door.

\---  
Barry can't sleep that night. While Wentworth and Joe are snoozing away, he watches the lights of the Snart household. Shadows move around a few times, but there isn't any yelling that he can hear. That's a good sign, right? No yelling, means no violence to his family...  
Eventually, Mick storms out of the house. His broad shoulders are slumped over as he strides away, his head held low as if to hide his face.  
Barry waits until he's out of eyesight before flashing over to the Snarts.  
The door's unlocked and Len is standing in the living room staring at the ground. He looks up to Barry and gives him a tight smile.  
"Is everything okay?" Barry asks him, because he can still catch the criminal if he needs to.  
"Yeah," Len sighs, "We're good."  
"What happened?" Barry steps closer as Len sits himself down on the couch.  
"We talked, he listened and complained, then he left to cool off," Len leaned back into the cushions, one arm cradling the other.  
"Should I be worried?" Barry's already worried, but maybe he needs to be more worried.  
Len chuckles, "No, Barry, we're good. Mick will go off and cause a ruckus, maybe set a few things on fire, then he'll come back ready to move on."  
"I take it you two have gone through something like this before?" Relief softens his stance and lets him relax.  
"A few times," Len drawls, "Mick's emotions can get the better of him, especially when he's angry, but he always calms down and comes back to his senses in the end."  
"Good," Barry sighs, "I better get back. Make sure Wentworth hasn't woken up."  
Len nods, "I'm going to be up for a little while, but don't worry. If you need to drop our son off here for hero duty, and I'm asleep, just wake me."  
Barry nods then flashes back to his own house.  
There was a new bump in the road, but between the two of them, it shouldn't be a problem. Who knew? Maybe Mick Rory would turn to their side?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the show, nor the characters.


End file.
